Power Strip with Articulatable Outlets

ABSTRACT

The present invention disclosed relates to a flexible electrical outlet strip that is comprised of a series of electric receptacles joined by independent ball and socket modules. Each ball and socket module is electrically interconnected with the power source and capable of rotating 360 degrees while maintaining electrical continuity. Each ball and socket connection also provides up to 60 degrees of pivotal movement at each socket joint. A fixed single-axis pivotal hinge joins receptacles  1, 2, 3  to  4, 5, 6  increasing mobility and possible outlet configurations. Combined, these characteristics will enable each electric receptacle to be positioned in a unique configuration to accommodate bulky and odd-shaped plugs and power adapters, conform into flexible shapes and designs for space constrained areas, hang or wrap around objects, and assist with cord management.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent applicationSer. No. 61/368,851, Filed 2010 Jul. 29 by the present inventors

BACKGROUND Prior Art

The following is a tabulation of some prior art that presently appearsRelevant:

U.S. Pat. Nos.

Patent Number Kind Code Issue Date Patentee 7,607,928 B2 October 2009Schriefer 7,393,250 B2 July 2008 Tanaka 7,264,514 B2 September 2007 Hsu7,557,297 B2 July 2009 Axland 7,497,740 B2 March 2009 Mei 5,848,915 ADecember 1998 Canizales 6,315,617 B1 November 2001 Al-Sabah 7,510,426 B2March 2009 Hwang 6,780,038 B1 April 2004 Huang 7,544,100 B2 June 2009Teitelbaum

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS UTILIZED IN THE DRAWINGS

-   10—Power Strip with Articulatable Outlets-   20—Power Cord-   30—Conventional Power Plug-   40—Master Switch-   50—Surge Protector Reset-   100—Power Strip Housing-   120 (a, b, c, d, e, f)—Articulatable Links of the Power Strip-   130—Outlet Receptacle-   140—Hinged Joint-   142, 144—Hinged Leaves-   160—Ball, for Ball-and-Socket Joint-   162—Surface of Ball, for Ball-and-Socket Joint-   170—Socket, for Ball-and-Socket Joint-   172—Inner Surface of Socket for Ball-and-Socket Joint-   174—Opening for Ball-and-Socket Joint-   190—Loop-style Anchor-   194—Hook-   200—Rotor Assembly-   210—Floating Plate of Rotor Assembly-   212—Circular Floor of Floating Plate of Rotor Assembly-   214—Peripheral wall of Floating Plate of Rotor Assembly-   216, 218, 220—Concentric Annular Dividing Walls of Floating Plate of    Rotor Assembly-   222 (a, b, c)—Conductive Rings of Floating Plate of Rotor Assembly-   230—Fixed Plate of Rotor Assembly-   232—Circular Floor of Fixed Plate of Rotor Assembly-   234—Peripheral wall of Fixed Plate of Rotor Assembly-   236, 238, 240—Concentric Annular Dividing Walls of Fixed Plate of    Rotor Assembly-   242 (a, b, c, d, e, f)—Conductive Ball-Bearings of Rotor Assembly-   244 (a, b, c)—Conductive Rings of Fixed Plate of Rotor Assembly-   250—Interconnected Wires-   255—Fastener for Rotor Assembly-   257—Compression Spring for Rotor Assembly-   260—Secured Point of Interconnected Wires-   e—Equator of the Ball's Outer Surface/Socket's Inner Surface for    Ball-and-Socket Joint.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to power strips includingmultiple electrical outlets for receiving plugs of powerable devices.

BACKGROUND

Electric power strips are well-known in the art. Such power strips areoften used to electrically connect more than one electrically-powereddevice to a single wall-mounted AC power receptacle. Accordingly, powerstrips typically include one plug for insertion into the wall-mountedreceptacle and several similarly-configured outlets, electricallyconnected to the power strip's plug, for receiving plugs of devices thatare intended to be powered by the power strip. Typical arrangementsoften further include a master switch for breaking the electricalconnection between the power-strip's plug and the power strip's outlets,and a surge-protection device, such as a circuit-breaker.

Most power strips include a rigid housing, typically plastic or metal,that supports and/or defines the power strip's outlets. A commonarrangement includes a rectangularly-shaped housing supporting six ormore outlets in a linear array. Accordingly, it will be appreciated thatthe spatial relationship among the power strip's outlets is fixedaccording to the design of the power strip. FIG. 1 shows an exemplarypower strip including a rigid housing and a linear array of outlets thatis representative of many prior art power strips.

This design was historically useful for standard two-prong andthree-prong electrical cord plugs, for 110V devices, such as lamps,alarm clocks, fans, televisions, cable boxes, etc. which could beconnected to a typical 110V wall-receptacle in straight-forward fashion.Such standard plugs are typically sized to have a face that isessentially the same size or smaller than the face of the outlet towhich it is to be mated. Therefore, typical power strips includeclosely-spaced outlets, and all outlets were accessible to such standardplugs.

However, many modem electrically-powered devices do not operate on 110V(or other standard wall-receptacle voltage) power platforms. Examples ofsuch devices include most cellular telephones and smartphones powertools, computer peripherals, and the like. As a result, such devices,and/or chargers for batteries for such devices, require transformers tostep down the voltage available at the standard wall receptacle.Typically, such transformers are built into the distal end of the powercable of such a device (or its charging device), and as a result, theplug-end of the power cords of such devices is large and bulky, and hasface dimensions that exceed the face dimensions of a typical poweroutlet. Due to the limited space between each closely-spaced outlet on aconventional power strip, it is often the case that an over-sizedtransformer/plug of one device prevents use of an adjacent outlet.

Therefore, a power strip is needed that facilitates concurrent use ofall adjacent outlets of a power strip, even when powering devices havingover-sized transformers/plugs. The present invention fulfills this needamong others.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order toprovide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is notintended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or todelineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to presentsome concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to themore detailed description that is presented later.

The present invention provides a power strip including outlets supportedon a rigid housing that includes interconnected but articulatable links.Adjacent rigid links may be manipulated about at least one axis ofrotation relative to one another. Accordingly, the outlets may bepositioned relative to one another such that a typical over-sizedtransformer/plug received in one outlet will not preclude use of anadjacent outlet.

In a preferred embodiment, the power strip's housing includes rigidlinks that are interconnected by at least one of a hinged joint and aball-and-socket joint. The hinged joint provides a range of motionbetween adjacent links about a single axis. The ball-and-socket jointprovides a range of motion between adjacent links about three orthogonalaxes. Each joint is configured to provide for uninterrupted electricalinterconnection with the power strip's plug and/or adjacent outletsthrough the entire range of motion.

Thus, the present invention provides for dramatically-increased outletconfiguration flexibility, and allows for all receptacles to be usedconcurrently, even with oversized transformers/plugs. The articulatablesegments also allow a user to form the power strip into variousstructural shapes, which allows for easy mounting or fastening to hooksor other fixed objects. For example, the power strip may be wrappedaround a table leg, or bent into a loop (and in certain embodimentsfastened to itself to maintain the loop shape). This distinct featureenables the flexible power strip to be used in a number of circumstanceswhere a rigid power strip would not work well (e.g., to enable the powerstrip to be wrapped around a leg of a desk/table in a somewhatspirallhelical fashion, where a nontraditional space dictates thenecessity of a flexible structure), or where multiple large poweradapters are necessary.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described by way of example withreference to the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary prior art power stripincluding a rigid housing and a linear array of outlets;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a power strip with articulatable outlet linksin accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are plan views of the hinged joint of the power strip ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective exploded view of the hinged joint of FIGS. 3 and4;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective views showing a ball-and-socket joint ofthe power strip of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a rotor assembly for maintainingelectrical interconnection through the range of motion of theball-and-socket joint of FIGS. 3 a and 3 b;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are assembly perspective and plan views, respectively ofthe fixed plate and floating plate of the rotor assembly of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the rotor assembly of FIG. 8, showingmating of the fixed and floating plates of FIGS. 9 and 10 and theirrelative rotation;

FIG. 12 is a section view through the assembled rotor assembly of FIG.8.

FIG. 13 is a partial sectional view of the power strip of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the power strip of FIG. 2, showing the powerstrip latched in a closed-loop configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 2, a plan view of an exemplary power strip 10 inaccordance with the present invention. The exemplary power strip 10includes certain conventional features, such as power cord 20terminating in a conventional power plug 30, a conventional masterswitch 40, and a conventional surge protector (surge protector notshown, surge protector reset switch 50 shown). By way of example, thepower cord 20 may be a conventional power strip power cord housing two14 AWG insulated conductors and one 14 AWG copper ground wire, and theplug may be a conventional, e.g., NEC-compatible, 110 V plug. By way offurther example, the surge protector/fuse may be constructed withcurrent limiting circuitry to prevent power surges, along with a 15 ampfuse to prevent overdraw of current from attached devices. Anyconventional technology may be used for these features. Because they arebeyond the scope of the present invention, such features are notdiscussed in detail herein.

In accordance with the present invention, the housing 100 of the powerstrip 10 includes multiple articulatable links 120. In the exemplaryembodiment, each link 120 includes an outlet 130 configured to receive aconventional power plug of an electrically powered device. FIG. 2 showsthe preferred embodiment of the orientation of these outletsperpendicular to the long axis of the link, though they may also bepositioned parallel to the link as shown in later figures. Each outletis electrically interconnected with other outlets and/or the powercord/plug so that all outlets may be powered via the power strip's plug.

Each link 120 is constructed of a rigid material such as an insulativeplastic material. By way of example, each link may be formed byinjection molding fluent plastic material into a suitably configuredmold. However, at least two of the links, and preferably all of thelinks, are interconnected by a joint permitting relative motion betweenadjacent links. Preferably the joints provide relative rotation about atleast one axis.

The exemplary power strip 10 shown in FIGS. 2-14 includes links 120 c,120 d connected by a hinged joint 140, and links 120 a/120 b, 120 b/120c, 120 d/120 e and 120 e/120 f connected by ball-and-socket joints 150.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, an exemplary hinged joint 140 is showninterconnecting links 120 c and 120 d of the power strip 10 of FIG. 2.Referring now to FIG. 3, links 120 c and 120 are specially-formed toinclude complementary hinge leaves 142, 144 joined for relative motiontherebetween. By way of example, the leaves may be joined by a pivotpin, such as a metal pin, a screw, or an integrated plastic pin.Accordingly, links 120 c and 120 d are pivotable about the pivot pin146, generally about an axis extending in the z-axis of the Cartesiancoordinate system shown for reference purposes in FIG. 3. This exemplaryembodiment permits a range of rotational motion from a collapsedposition (see FIG. 3), in which the respective outlets 130 of links 120c and 120 d are positioned adjacent one another in substantiallyparallel fashion, to an extended position (see FIG. 4), in which therespective outlets 130 of links 120 c and 120 d are positioned inverted(opposed by approximately 180 degrees) relative to one another, andpreferably lie substantially along a line.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the hinge leaves are constructed to maintaincontinuous electrical interconnection through the entire range of motionof the hinged joint 140. This may be performed in various ways. Forexample, in one embodiment, the leaves may simply house wires passingtherethrough. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the power strip 10includes rotor assembly 200 similar to that shown and discussed belowwith reference to the ball-and-socket joint. More specifically, thehinge leaves 142, 144 act as the fixed and floating plates describedbelow, and contain raceways, conductive rings, and conductive contactsin the form of conductive metallic ball-bearings, as discussed below.

Thus, the position of FIG. 3 provides substantial clearance in thedirection of the y-axis (see FIG. 3) and the position of FIG. 4 providessubstantial clearance in the direction of the x-axis (see FIG. 3), toaccommodate a broad range of differently-shaped, over-sizedtransformers/plugs. Further, it will be appreciated that the hingedjoint 140 allows the power strip 10 to effectively be folded flatagainst itself (see FIG. 2), for storage and/or use in a compact state.In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, link 120 f is provided with aloop-style anchor 190, and link 120 a is provided with a complementaryhook 194. In such an embodiment, the power strip 10 can be locked in thefolded position of FIG. 3 by engaging the hook 194 of link 120 f withthe anchor 190 of link 120 a.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, an exemplary ball-and-socket joint 150is shown interconnecting links 120 e and 120 f of the power strip 10 ofFIG. 2. Each ball-and-socket joint 150 is formed by a ball 160 of onelink, e.g., 120 f, and a socket 170 of an adjacent link, e.g. 120 e. Asis typical of ball-and-socket joints, each socket 170 includes an innersurface 172 shaped to accept at least a portion of a sphere, and eachball 160 has an outer surface 162 that has an overall spherical (orpartially-spherical) shape for mating with the inner surface 172 of thesocket 170. The socket 170 is shaped so that it has an opening 174 thatis smaller than the equator e (see FIG. 4 a) of the ball's outer surface162 and the socket's inner surface 172, so that the socket can captureand retain the ball therein for motion relative thereto. Preferably, theopening 174 is only slightly smaller than the ball's equator so that theball can be press-fit into the socket without permanent damage to thesocket or the ball, while permitting a high degree of relative motionbetween links interconnected by the ball-and-socket joint, as best shownin FIG. 7.

In this exemplary embodiment, the ball-and-socket joint permits 360degrees of relative rotation about the x-axis (see FIG. 6), about 120degrees of relative rotation about the y-axis, and about 120 degrees ofrelative rotation about the z-axis.

Thus, in this exemplary embodiment, which includes six links, each ofwhich is capable of about 60 degrees of angular rotation in eachdirection about the y and z axes, it is possible to articulate the linksto collectively form a closed loop, in a generally circularconfiguration. In a preferred embodiment, each of the end links 120 a,120 f is provided with one of an anchor and a complementary hook. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 2, link 120 f is provided with a loop-styleanchor 190, and link 120 a is provided with a complementary hook 194.This closed loop configuration allows the power strip to be wrappedaround certain fixed objects, with the ability to hang freely. Forexample, the power strip could be wrapped around the trunk of aChristmas tree and locked into place with the hook and anchor. Thiscould provide an elevated location for all Christmas tree light outlets,without laying a power strip on the ground where it may be susceptibleto exposure water during watering of the tree.

FIGS. 8-13 show an exemplary rotor assembly 200 that allows for theabove described relative motion of the links interconnected by theball-and-socket joints while maintaining electrical interconnectionthrough the range of motion. Referring now to FIG. 8, the rotor assembly200 is shown relative to a ball 160 and socket 170. Preferably, theentire rotor assembly 200 is captured within the ball 160.Alternatively, a portion of the rotor assembly is housed within theball, and a portion is housed with the socket 170.

Referring now to FIGS. 9-12, it will be appreciated that the rotorassembly 200 includes a fixed plate 230 and a floating plate 210. Thefixed plate 230 is intended to be fixed to, and rotate with, andassociated link. In contrast, the floating plate 210 is intended torotate, as necessary, relative to the fixed plate during relativerotation of adjacent links about the x-axis. The fixed and floatingplates 230, 210, are specially configured to ensure that electricalinterconnection is maintained there between through 360 degrees ofrelative rotation.

Referring now to FIG. 9, it will be appreciated that floating plate 210is generally disk-like, and includes a substantially flat circular floor212, a peripheral side wall 214 extending substantially perpendicularlyto the floor 212, and a plurality of concentric annular dividing walls216,218,220 positioned substantially perpendicularly to the floor 212within the peripheral side wall 214. The floating plate isnonconductive, and the sidewalls collectively define three annularraceways (a first between side wall 214 and dividing wall 216, a secondbetween dividing wall 216 and dividing wall 218, and a third betweendividing wall 218 and dividing wall 220). Each annular raceway is linedwith a conductive ring 222 a, 222 b, 222 c, such as a ring of copperstamped from a flat sheet, which may be heat-staked or otherwise fit orbonded in the raceway. Each conductive ring is electrically connected toone of the positive, neutral and ground conductors of the power stripcircuit. For example, wires 250 may be soldered to contacts electricallyconnected to these rings, in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 11for fixed plate 240.

Further, the rotor assembly 200 includes an attachment fastener 255through the center of the fixed plate 230 and floating plate 210 in sucha manner that it fastens the two together and prevents movement in theaxial direction that would cause the conductive ball-bearings todisengage from contact with the conductive rings of the floating andfixed plates, while at the same time permitting relative rotationbetween fixed plate 230 and floating plate 210. This fastener may bemechanical in nature, such as a conventional bolt and nut as shown, orinterference fit split-shaft molded directly into the center of fixedplate 230. The fastener will also incorporate compression spring 257between the end of the fastener and the floating plate to keep constantpressure on floating plate to ensure that the bearings maintain contactwith both opposing faces of the rotor assembly at all times.

Further, the rotor assembly 200 includes an attachment fastener throughthe center of the fixed plate 230 and floating plate 210 in such amanner that it fastens the two together and prevents movement in theaxial direction that would cause the conductive ball-bearings todisengage from contact with the conductive rings of the floating andfixed plates, while at the same time permitting relative rotationbetween fixed plate 230 and floating plate 210. This fastener may bemechanical in nature, such as a conventional bolt and nut, or integratedplastic pin and capture washer directly into the center of fixed plate230.

FIG. 13 is a partial sectional view of the power strip of FIG. 2. Asbest shown in FIG. 7, each rotor assembly 220 is captured within arespective ball-and-socket joint 150. Further, the wires 250, conductiverings 222 a, 222 b, 222 c on floating plate 210, conductive rings 244 a,244 b, and 244 c on fixed plate 240, and conductive ball-bearings 242 a,242 b, 242 c, 242 d, 242 e, and 242 f constrained between themcollectively provide continuous positive, neutral, and ground electricalpaths so that all outlets 130 of the power strip may be powered via thepower strip's cord 20 and plug 30.

In use, relative motion of the links 120 a, 120 b, 120 c, 120 d, 120 e,and 120 f is permitted by simply manually grasping the links andmanipulating each joint 140, 150. Further, such relative motion ispermitted while the integrity of the electrical path is maintainedthroughout the entire range of motion of each joint. More specifically,as each ball-and-socket joint 150 is rotated about the y- and z-axes(see FIG. 13), no relative motion between the floating and fixed plates210, 230 is required to maintain the integrity of the electrical paths.However, as each ball-and-socket joint 14 is rotated about the z-axis,the floating plate 210 is permitted to rotate as necessary (i.e., to theextent such rotation cannot be accommodated by simple bending ortwisting of interconnecting wires 250) relative to the fixed plate 230of the same rotor assembly 200. The floating plate 210 may be caused torotate by the imposition of a torsional force from the attached wires250. Fixed plate 230 may be braced by internal structures of the balland or friction therewith, or may be otherwise secured within the ball.Wires may be secured to an internal portion of the housing, e.g. betweenan outlet 130 and an adjacent fixed plate 230 (since there is norelative rotation therebetween) or between an outlet 130 and adjacentfloating plate 210 (such that twisting of the wires 250 relative to thesecured point 260, FIG. 13) will cause the transference of torsionalforce that will cause floating plate 240 to rotate relative to fixedplate 210, and relieve forces on the wires 250 while avoiding torsionalor other forces on the end of the wires 250 joining the outlet.

The links 120 a, 120 f may be latched and unlatched using the anchor andloop 190, 194 in a straightforward fashion, either to lock the powerstrip in a folded position 9 see FIG. 2) or in a closed-loopconfiguration (see FIG. 14). The master switch 40 and surge protector 50can be operated in a conventional manner.

Thus it will be appreciated that the power strip 10 enables pivotingand/or rotation of adjacent links to position the respective outlets 130to accommodate over-sized large AC adapters/transformers/plugs, and toachieve a flexible footprint to fit into smaller spaces, to hang/wraparound objects for mounting purposes, and to provide enhanced cordmanagement.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to the preferred mode as illustrated in the drawing, itwill be understood by one skilled in the art that various changes indetail may be effected therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the claims.

1. A power strip comprising: A power cord comprising a plurality ofinsulated conductors for carrying electricity, said power cordterminating in a plug adapted for electrical interconnection with aconventional power receptacle; and a housing supporting a plurality ofoutlets electrically interconnected with said plurality of conductors ofsaid power cord, said housing comprising a plurality of rigid links,each of said plurality of rigid links supporting at least one of saidplurality of outlets, at least two of said links being interconnected bya joint permitting relative rotation therebetween about at least oneaxis.
 2. The power strip of claim 1, wherein said joint comprises ahinged joint comprising at least two leaves relatively rotatable about asingle axis.
 3. The power strip of claim 1, wherein said joint comprisesa ball-and-socket joint comprising a ball and a socket relativelyrotatable about three orthogonal axes.
 4. The power strip of claim 1,wherein said ball-and-socket joint may rotate a full 360 degrees axiallywithout sacrificing electrical continuity throughout the device.